Last night UFC heavyweight Ben Rothwell lived up to his nickname by showing up “big” at UFC 145 where he flattened fellow heavyweight Brendan Schaub a little over a minute into their main card clash. The performance marked Rothwell’s first strike-based finish in nearly five years despite being the eighteenth of his career.

Rothwell’s stoppage of Schaub was named the evening’s Knockout of the Night and, in addition to securing his spot on the roster, earned the 30-year old an additional $65,000 on top of his regular earnings.

Submission of the Night (and 65k) went to another heavyweight with Travis Browne taking home the honors. His bonus-winning brutality also occurred in the opening round of action, forcing newcomer Chad Griggs to tap out to a textbook Arm-Triangle Choke.

Last but not least, the little guys came through on the Fight of the Night front, as the three-round tilt between Eddie Yagin-Mark Hominick was awarded with the distinction. The two went back and forth for the entire fifteen minute frame, bloodying each other up and weathering a handful of storms including two instances of Hominick being dropped and seemingly on the brink of being finished. Each man received an extra $65,000 for his efforts.

I remember watching Rothwell back in the IFL. He had a three round war with Roy Nelson that he won by split decision. Rothwell always had ko power, but his conditioning was questionable. Looks like he has that under control now. He may never be a contender in UFC, but with more gas in his tank he’s a legit threat on any given night.

Can I get some love for yet another exciting performance by Matt “The Immortal” Brown on the prelims? He is well-rounded and entertaining. Facing a striker, he stood and traded as much as he could, and took it the ground only when required to win rounds.